Learning to Live
by dancerox421
Summary: Sophie is left alone and in the dark after a tragic accident. Sent off to live with relatives in La Push can Sophia cope with losing everything... including herself? Paul/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N****: Please try not to beat me within an inch of my life! I love gentle criticism because it will only help me, but bashing a story doesn't help anyone! It just makes me sad! :D Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer****: I do not own anything! Its all stephenie meyer's! **

_**Learning to live**_

Chapter 1

"Sophia Grace get up this minute or you will walk to try outs!" Shouted her mom. Shopie rolled over in her bed trying to ignore her mother. She was trying to cling to the last few minutes of her dream, but now that she was awake she couldn't remember why it was so good.

Growling in frustration she rolled out of bed and walked to her closet. Sophie was one of those people who it didn't take much for her to look good, but today was different. It was going to be the day that Scott Conners finally noticed her. Scott is the captain of the football team and school heart throb, but Scott only likes the girl who is current cheer captain. Today was the day that Sophie was determined to beat out Wendy for captain and win over Scott.

Shophie dressed in her cheer uniform and straightened her hair making sure she looked perfect. Nothing could ruin today. Today was her day to shine.

"Mom are you ready to go?" Sophie asked as she grabbed a banana from the counter.

"I've been waiting on you." Her mother said exasperated as she threw her an apple juice.

"Why does New Mexico have to be so darn hot all the time? I am already sweating!"

"Sophia just get in the car with your father and stop complaining."

"Yes mam." Sophie said while rolling her eyes.

Her parents would never understand why trying out for captain was so important. They thought she was being silly little Sophie as usual, but she would prove them worng. Once they saw how much better being captain made her life, they would understand.

Sophie started to shake as the car stopped in front of the high school. This was it. The moment that could make or break her high school career.

"Do you want daddy and I to go in and wait with the other parents?" Her mother asked from the front seat.

"No mom just take dad and go home. You will just make me more nervous. Ill get a ride home." Sophie said slamming the car door. She didn't even turn around when her mom rolled down her window called good luck.

Sure she was being a brat, but that's what they get for not being more supportive.

Part of the try out is to be on the very top of the pyramid because the captain is always on top. Sophie stepped up for her turn. Everything was going flawlessly. It was the highest she had ever been. She suddenly noticed the girls below her began to shake violently. Sophie realized that it wasn't just them, it was the whole gym. The walls began to crack and then she was falling for what felt like an eternity.

As she was falling backwards she realized with a sick sense that she was going to hit head first and no one was going to be able to catch her. The earthquake had them all on the ground.

Sophie felt as her head cracked against the gym floor. Then darkness.

**A/N: Sorry the first chapter is so short an a little on the boring side, but It is going to get the ball rolling! And yes this story is Twilight related and you will see that soon! Let me know what you think so far! Dancerox421 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Finally The fic can get rolling! I hope you guys like it!**

**Disclaimer: ** **I do not own anything! Its all stephenie meyer's! **

Chapter 2

Sophia slowly became aware of her body. She could feel her fingers trying to twitch, but trying to open her eyes was proving to be almost impossible. She felt as if her head was full of cotton. She could hear a kaleidoscope of noises around her.

The most prominent noise that she could hear was a slow and even beeping. Sophie slowly dragged her hands to her head where she discovered that the whole top of her head was wrapped in a bandage.

"Sophie...sweetheart...are you awake?" Asked a female voice.

"yes...I think so...I can't open my eyes. Who is there?" Sophie began to panic. She didn't like not knowing what was going on.

"Sophia it's your Aunt Sue from La Push. Do you remember me?"

Sophie was struck silent for a minute. Why was Aunt Sue here? Where were her parents?

"Aunt Sue what are you doing here in New Mexico?" She was so confused. She just wanted these stupid bandages off her face.

"Do you remember what happened three days ago?" Aunt Sue asked.

Three days...There is no way...Sophie was baffled.

"Three days? Aunt Sue...What happened?" Sophie questioned.

"There was an earthquake Sophia. The worst in the history of New Mexico. You fell from so high its shocking you survived. A lot of people didn't." She said timidly.

"Where are my mom and dad?" Sophia began to really panic. She began to tear at the bandages on her head so she could look at her aunt.

"Sophia leave those alone! You need to keep those on! You're not ready!" Her aunt shouted.

Sophia ignored her and tore them off ignoring the sting in the back of her head. She opened her eyes...and nothing. She could feel her eye lids blinking, but all she saw was darkness.

"Oh Sophia I wanted to warn you first..." Her aunt whispered to her.

"Aunt Sue. What. Is. Going. On." She demanded.

"Sophie you hit the back of your head during the earthquake, and you've lost your sight..."

"And my parents...where are they Aunt Sue?" Sophie whispered .

"I'm so sorry sophia." She could feel her aunt take her hand.

She felt numb inside. She lost everything that mattered to her in one day. She felt the first tear fall.

_Three days later_

Sophie didn't want to get out of bed. It's not that she needed more sleep because she wasn't getting any. It was the fact that she didn't want to face what her life had become.

She heard her aunt begin to stir in the hotel bed next to her. Today they were leaving for La Push. After her parents funeral the other day her aunt told her that it was her parents wish that she go and live with the Clearwaters if anything ever happened to them.

"Sophia, it's time to get up. Our plane leaves in two hours. I will help you get dressed." Her aunt informed her.

Sophie couldn't do anything on her own anymore. The things she used to be able to do in her sleep were now things that required help. The doctors told her that once she got into a stable environment she would begin to learn to do things on her own again. Until then she was dependent on Aunt Sue for everything.

Her aunt began to help her go through the ritual of getting dressed for the day. It took them a while, but they finally left for the airport.

Walking anywhere freaked Sophie out. In fact she hated it. She constantly felt like she was going to trip or run into something. She was learning to trust that her aunt wasn't going to run her into anything. It was so hard for her because she was not used to trusting other people.

When the plane landed and her aunt collected all of their stuff they waited for Uncle Henry and Seth. She heard her aunt greet them and hand off the luggage.

She felt large warm arms wrap around her.

"Hey Sophie. I love you cousin." Seth whispered. He just held her for a little bit, and Sophie was surprised to feel herself relax a little bit. It was nice to hear a familiar voice.

"Hey Seth...thanks for coming to get us. I hear it's a little bit of a drive." She said more out of courtesy. She really hadn't been talking much. It was weird to hear her voice again.

"Here I'll help you to the car." He replied, and they were off to La Push.

The car finally pulled to a stop. When Sophie got out of the car the first thing she smelled was rain and trees. They were defiantly there. Her aunt helped her to the front door and let them all in.

"Welcome to our home." Her aunt said. The house had a nice clean smell to it. At least she somewhat remembered what it looked like.

"Come with me and we will get you settled into your room." her aunt said.

Sophie sat down on the bed. She ran her hands on the blanket and the pillow trying to get a feel for her new surroundings.

"Aunt sue...I think I just want to go to bed for the night." Sophie confessed. It had been a long day and she was done.

"Ok. Here are your night cloths and just yell if you need to go to the bathroom. Goodnight." Her aunt kissed her on the head and left the room.

She dug through her bag until her hands hit a frame. Sophie lay down on her new bed and held the picture of her family that she couldn't see anymore, and cried herself to sleep.

**A/N: I hope you guys liked it! And yes Harry is alive! I may try to update again tomorrow or even tonight if I feel motivated enough! Let me know what you guys think! Dancerox421 **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey! I am so so soooo sorry for the long wait I have been super sick lately! Thank you to everyone who has given my fic a chance it means a lot! I know the story is pretty heavy now, but it will start to lighten up! Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: If you recognize it…it's not mine! :D **

Chapter 3

Sophia knew her Aunt was worried about her, but she couldn't work up the energy to care. It had been three weeks since she arrived in LA Push, and all she did was stay in bed and eat when no one was around.

She heard her door creep open. Sophie closed her eyes quickly and pretended to be asleep. She smelled a spicy scent and the forest…Seth….

"Sophia Grace I know you're awake." He said sitting down on her bed.

"Seth please just leave me alone" Sophie whispered. She didn't want to talk to anyone she just wanted to be alone and wallow in her grief.

"Sophie its Leah, you need to get out of the house. It's been three weeks here put this on we are going to the beach you could use the fresh air." Sophie felt a pile of cloths hit her face. She felt her two cousins grab her arms and pull her up.

"And you may not argue with us. It's time for you to leave this house." Her cousin Leah demanded.

"Alright, alright if you two will shut up. I'm going to change get out." She knew she sounded rude but she couldn't help it. Was it so hard to let her lay in bed all day?

She put on her swimsuit that her cousin gave her and the jean shorts. Throwing her hair up in a ponytail she made her way over to her bedroom door.

"Good you're ready! Come on." Leah said while taking her hand. Sophie thought her hands were warm. What is with these kids?

Leah put her in the front seat while Seth started the jeep. Sophie had to admit the fresh air felt fantastic. The sun was slowly chasing away the chill that had hung around her for so many weeks.

Soon Sophie could hear the waves slapping the beach and smell the salt on the air. Maybe Seth and Leah were right. The fresh air was doing her a lot of good. Soon Seth was pulling the car into a parking lot.

Leah jumped out of the back and opened the door and helped her down from the front seat.

"Here we are Sophie! Doesn't it feel amazing out?" Leah asked taking her hand.

"Actually it does feel really good out. Thanks you two." She replied.

"Hey there are the guys!" Seth shouted.

"Wait what? There are other people! I don't want to see anyone!" Sophie yelled pulling from Leah's grasp. She was so shocked. How could her cousins not tell her about other people? Sophie just didn't have the kind of energy to be around people. Especially people who would stare at her and act weird around her.

"Soph calm down. It will be good for you to learn how to be around people again. You need this." Seth said grabbing her hand pulling her towards the beach. There was no fighting him he was so darn strong.

"Fine, but don't expect little Mrs. Sunshine, and would you slow down Seth?" She said stumbling after Seth.

"Sophie these are the guys we hang out with all the time. Their names are Jacob, Jared, Embry, Quil, Collin, Conner, Brady, and Paul." Said Seth. Each boy took turns shaking her hand. Each hand was large and warm. Sophie began to wonder if they were putting something in the water at La Push.

"Come on soph lets go lay out." Said Leah pulling on her hand. She heard all of the guys run off and jump into the waves.

Sophie settled down onto her towel enjoying the silence while Leah napped. She felt the presence of someone standing over her.

"Can I help you with something you're blocking my sunlight." Sophie demanded of the stranger.

"Excuse me?" someone asked.

"You heard me." Sophie didn't know why she was being so snarky. She just wasn't used to people staring yet.

"Um actually I was just coming to introduce myself, but I think I will let you get your head out of your butt first." Said the stranger in a clipped tone.

"Excuse me?" Sophie demanded sitting up Indian style, but it was too late whoever it was had already stormed off.

"Geeze Soph what did you do to Paul." Seth asked plopping down on her towel. He shook his hair out like a dog effectively getting her wet.

"Gross Seth! I didn't do anything to him! He was standing there staring at me!" Sophie yelled pushing Seth over.

"That's it. You little missy need a cool down. "Seth grabbed Sophie from her towel and threw her over his shoulder.

"Put me down you freak!" Sophie shrieked. She could hear the loud laughs of the other boys in the water.

"Ok here yah go." Seth said dropping her. Instead of landing in the sand like she thought Sophie ended up in the ocean.

She came up sputtering and spitting out the nasty salt water. She felt a pair of warm hand pull her upright.

"Seth you could have hurt her!" Ah so Mr. Grumpy makes a showing again.

"Yah Seth you could have hurt me!" She pouted.

"I'll get him back." Paul whispered in her ear. She felt chills go down her back as his breath tickled her ear. She heard Seth suddenly yell and could hear the sounds of sweet revenge. For the first time in three weeks Sophie …. smiled. When Sophie was most convinced that she was dead inside she felt the first flutters of hope.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Review please I would LOVE to know what you are thinking! Also I have some running ideas of where this story is going to go, but if you have any amazing ideas you want me to consider that would be fantastic! Dancerox421 :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey so I'm back hopefully I will stay on track this time! I have been off working on my writing skills because I realized that they were severely lacking in the first three chapters. Let me know what you all think about the story and definitely let me know what you think I can improve on because that's the fun of writing, to learn and to get better! Thanks! **

**Disclaimer: Yep still don't own it! **

Sophie sat in her bed. She was exhausted from the day; she hadn't been that active in a while now. She thought about how much life had changed. How far off course it had gone. She was supposed to be captain right now, calling all the shots and hanging off the arm of Scott Connors. Now she was in some small freak town where everyone was friends and she didn't fit in. Sophie realized that she hadn't been taking care of herself. Her hair felt dry and brittle and she could use a good shower. She got out of bed, grabbed her towel, and took the twelve step journey to the bathroom across the hall. Everything was just where it should be. Shampoo on her left, conditioner and face-wash on her right, soap in the dish on the wall. Sophie was beginning to learn how to do daily things again and she hated it. Taking a shower wasn't supposed to be at the top of the difficult list. It was supposed to be easy as breathing and now, now it was a challenge. Finally done she decided to draw a hot bath and relax. Laying in the hot water she daydreamed about today.

_-Flashback-_

_After hearing Seth get properly punished Sophie made her way out of the water. Unfortunately she didn't realize where she was and Leah was asleep about fifteen yards away from her. "Leah?" she called. After not receiving an answer she cautiously tried to retrace her steps; it was a lot harder then it seemed. Finally she gave up sat down in the sand and fumed. She was completely lost and had no idea how to find her cousin now. Sophie could hear the boys splashing around, but they sounded far off. She had wandered much farther then she meant to. Feeling tears begin to build up in her eyes she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on them. _

"_Hey what are you doing all the way over here?" The voice was instantly familiar. It was him. She caught the woodsy smell of him as he stood over her. The one she got in a fight with and thought he knew everything. Paul._

"_I'm listening to the waves and getting away from you people." She snapped. He brought out her worst qualities._

_Sighing he reached for her," Here let me help you." _

_Sophie jumped up and backed away from him. "I'm not a charity case I don't need anyone." Anger coursed through her. She wanted to be left alone. She wasn't a baby. She was just different now._

"_Why do you have to be so difficult?" She could feel his anger start to build. "There isn't anything wrong with asking for help." _

"_Yes there is!" Why couldn't he just leave her be?_

"_Why? Why can't you just get off your little pedestal and say that you need someone!" His hands started to quiver, he needed to calm down. She was just so frustrating. She needed him he could tell, she was just so darn stubborn. _

"_Because…that would be admitting that…that I can't do it…." Sophie whispered. She could feel the tears start. Oh great now she was going to cry in front of him too. _

_Suddenly, there were two strong, warm arms wrapped around her. She fit perfectly. Her head was tucked into his chest and the sound of his strong and steady heart beat calmed her anger and made her feel safe. Realizing that she was letting this insufferable jerk hold her she pushed him away. _

"_What are you doing?"_

_Sighing he grabbed her hand. "Taking you back to your cousin, who like an idiot fell asleep on the job."_

_Trying to pull back she began to protest. "Let go of me! I don't need your help!" _

"_Stop fighting and just accept my help, which by the way, will happen whether you like it or not. I'm not going to just let you wander the beach." _

_Grumbling Sophie let him lead he to Leah. She tried to thank him, but her pride made it come out as more of a mumble._

"_What was that?" Paul asked. She could hear the laughter in his voice. He was going to make her repeat herself._

"_I said thank you." She ground out, face bright red. _

_Stopping abruptly he turned to face her. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "I will always be here to help you, so you might as well get over it and just let me because I won't stop and I won't take no for an answer." _

"_Why do you want to help me so much…You don't even know me?" _

"_It's what friends do right, and since you're here to stay you need friends right?"_

"_Maybe…."She replied._

"_Not maybe, yes even you princess, need friends, so I'm here and so is every other person you met today."_

_Slowly he moved a piece of her hair out of her face. His warm skin barley grazed her cheek._

"_It's okay to ask for help. You're different now and it will take a lot of adjusting. You will need your friends more than ever, so don't shut yourself away. Keep living…for your parents…They wouldn't want you to give up." He turned and left. In shock she sat down surprised to find her towel, or so she hoped, beneath her. Who was this guy…and why in the world did he care so much? Sophie hated to admit it, but he struck a chord with what he said. He was right; her parents would hate seeing her like this. Slowly she reached up and traced her cheek where his hand had grazed. Who was this Paul, she needed to find out. _

_-End-_

He was right which is why she was getting showered and dressed. Satisfied that all of the sand was off her skin she got out, wrapped herself in her towel, and went to her room to get dressed. She brushed through her black hair and left it to dry. Making the now familiar journey out of her room and into the hall she could hear the family at the table. Slowly she walked into the kitchen.

Conversation came to an abrupt halt. "Do…do you mind if I eat with you guys tonight?"

Aunt Sue got up and took her hand. "Of course not sweet heart you are always welcome." Smiling she let her aunt lead her to whatever chair was empty. Sitting at the table with the others felt amazing. Normal. "Can you pass me some chicken?" Taking the plate from Seth she realized that Paul was unfortunately right. There wasn't anything wrong with asking for help, because like it or not this is how things are now. Sophie could feel some of the pressure leaving her chest. Things were going to be okay again. Never the same, but she would make her parents proud by living and moving on.

**A/N: Hope you liked it!**


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